Zebra Loach | Species Profile

[@kellycasperhanson4426]

❤I LOVE LOACHES! I call them "water puppies" because of the way they play & chase. I have a mix of different loaches. They interact very nicely even though they're not from the same species. I know NOW it's not optimal, but they've made it work. Maybe I lucked out, or maybe they're more flexible than we know. BEST OF ALL they eat pest snails😍!

[@DansFish]

Glad to hear everyone is getting along.

[@kaushalbshetty398]

Dan, I just came across your channel when searching for info on corydoras.. And I subscribed to your channel after watching that channel.. your channel is very informative and you seem to be very knowledged about the hobby.. keep up the good work.. awaiting more videos:)

[@DansFish]

Kaushal, glad you found us! More vids coming soon...

[@En_Gho]

Very informative video! Thank you!

[@DansFish]

Thanks for watching, Josh!

[@RedfishCarolina]

Got two of these guys and will be getting a few more tomorrow. Love these little guys!

[@lightwavz]

After adding kuhli loaches to my nanotank, I realized that I am a total loach nerd. I love them all. The kuhlis are a little circus act. I can see that same behavior here in the zebras! Thanks for this great info!

[@DansFish]

Loaches are loopy in general...such fun fish to watch as they clown around.

[@PotooBurd]

This is so informative! Great job, fantastic reporting!🌻🌼🐝 Keep it up 🙌

[@howardisadinosaur]

My favourite aquarium fish, super charismatic and just beautiful colouring :)

[@DansFish]

Yes and yes!!!

[@glentoner3689]

Ordered fish from You with Great Results : ) Thank You : )

[@kathy3956]

I have three zebra loach fish, one male and two females and they are amazing to watch and have lots of personality

[@apaulmcdonough2170]

My Favorite Loach and I agree with much of what you said. As for Population, I prefer about *60 Square Inches* of Bottom Area per Zebra Loach. Measure and find Total Square Inches of "Your Tank", divide by 60 and this will give a Shoal Size. Then provide *Lots of Hiding Places* because *Each will want Its Own* to retreat to when It's done "playing".

[@DansFish]

Thanks for sharing your methods, Paul :)

[@njafricancichlids5149]

Very nice video thx for sharing

[@DansFish]

You got it! Thanks for watching and commenting.

[@amazingaquaticsandexotics3030]

awesome little loach

[@njafricancichlids5149]

Nice video. Just picked up this gorgeous fish

[@DansFish]

Congrats on your pick ups. I hope they are endlessly entertaining for you.

[@farshidkavosi5818]

Thaks for sharing, can we keep cherry shrimps with them?

[@nirmaldas2879]

Excellent reviews, appreciated Thanksfully tkx sir

[@DansFish]

Glad you found it useful, Das. Thanks for watching!

[@QueAquatics]

Great information, love both of these loaches

[@DansFish]

Thanks Suzie. I like them both too. IF someone has a big enough tank for the clowns, then sure, go for it! I think, however, that a lot of clowns end up being put in tanks that are too small and the owners never quite get to upgrading. I'm trying to suggest zebras are a better choice in those situations.

[@maud3444]

Do they eat bigger snails too? Or only the smaller pest snails?

[@DansFish]

I'm not sure. I've never kept them with large species of snails.

[@djc20]

great video...

[@Cp6uja81]

Thank you for all the info. It really helped me decide to order some, right now. :) P.S. I know they can't go along with shrimp, but does that include amano shrimp too? Since they are much bigger. Or ghost, filter shrimp?

[@ronnie-lynn]

I added a snail for algae (as recommended by the advice of the aquatic store. I mentioned about my established tank etc and he is trying to eat my snail. I think he did eat it! Is that common!?

[@DansFish]

Yes. Many loaches eat snails. They are often used specifically for snail control in aquariums.

[@tilapiastore8515]

Great video Dan! Can you ID the other fish in the tank please?

[@CaylorsReptilesAquatics]

06:18

[@DansFish]

Howdy Tilapia! The other fish are female neon Drape Fin Barbs (Oreichthys crenuchoides) and some male Tequila Sunrise Guppies.

[@CliffordBorg]

Hello Are they safe with plants and will they survive with African chiclids ?

[@enigma533]

I have one Zebra loach living with couple of corydoras, glass fish, 4 kuhli loaches with one betta one brestle nose plecos and one pandagarra... It grown to medium size but it jumped out of aquarium today... May be it's a small take.. 10 gallon... It became normal when I put it back into water. Started again hunting and eating fees.

[@zschow9259]

try a lid they work great

[@65FullMoon83]

Good information! I will say though my experience with most loaches including the Zebra is they appear to have no problem holding their own with cichlids. I think it may have something to do with those defensive cheek spikes they can flair at will against any aggressor.They're comical funny rascals & great fun watch.

[@DansFish]

Glad you like 'em too! And thanks for sharing your experience keeping them with cichlids. I wouldn't dare, but it is nice to know it can work.

[@fizzypigeon2571]

i have dojo loaches and yoyo loaches with a geophagus. never been any aggression between them.

[@kylemendoza8860]

Can they go into a cichlid tank?

[@jascarty3503]

Great general information Dan, I'm thinking of adding 8 of these zebras to my rainbow tank, firstly, are they OK in a heavily planted tank, secondly I'm after after algae eaters aswell, would they mix with a few hillstream loaches, kind regards jas.

[@damull07]

Hey man, i have a zebra loach, and yesterday i put in a clown loach, and they havnt stopped fighting? Should i be worried

[@big-h8323]

Yes very big mistake maybe get rid of the clown loach and buy more zebra loaches

[@eddiehutchison3571]

Where can I purchase the zebra loach

[@debrascheer4577]

What kinds of food do they eat? I know they eat snails but after they eat all of those what other types of food do they eat?

[@BaughbeSauce]

As far as Botia breeding habits, I'm wondering if anyone has attempted to synthesize a monsoon to trigger breeding. I mean, striatas are from western India which gets seasonal monsoons. Is it possible that the monsoons cause changes in water temperature, current, and composition? All of that fresh rain water falling into their stream must affect the water chemistry. Wish I could go there and take samples throughout the year to find out.

[@John-cj1xd]

How many would you Recommend for a 38 gallon

[@CollinKilmer]

Great info, I saw you said a nice group could be in a 40 breeder but is that 6? 10? I'm going to have them with a couple butterfly plecos and maybe some Molly's but the loaches are my priority. Also what ppm nitrate should I try to maintain?

[@DansFish]

Howdy Collin, You could easily fit 10 in a 40 breeder...assuming, of course, you have the proper filtration and maintenance schedule. I'm not big into plants, so, personally, I like my nitrate at 0ppm. Fish don't like nitrates much and, since I don't focus on plants, there is no need to keep nitrates in the water for me.

[@lisac5287]

Beautiful loaches. I find they're great pest snail eaters too!

[@DansFish]

Yep, they are murder on snails...of course I forgot to mention that in the video :(

[@MELODYMUNRO]

Cant get these in Australia ... next.

[@Moocow9991703]

I've had zebra loarches for years and only ever top up the aquarium water has needed plenty of plants is the key to success not endless water changes 🎉

[@mikeb.2925]

Woah! A 30% water change every day??? That's a hell of a lot of maintenance!

[@DansFish]

We have an auto-water change system that runs every night.

[@Heather_-lh1ff]

are the golden zebra loaches and these similar in personality

[@DansFish]

If by golden zebra loach you mean Botia histrionica, then no. Those are, like many botias, actually quite aggressive fish IME.

[@omaxem79]

@@DansFish Having had both species i would have to disagree. B. Histrionica are much more active and can swim higher in the water column, and because they seem curious, are bigger and more boisterous i guess you just notice them more, but i would never call them aggressive. They do, however, stand up for themselves. B. striata are much more sedate... except within their group. They are constantly displaying and sparring with each other ( never in an aggressive/actual fight-y way ), and mostly ignore other fish. Very different personalities, but both are great fish IMO.

[@worldfantasygamingshow9757]

Can i stay zebra loach with angel fish

[@gabrielliberman8247]

Hello, I have 3 yoyo loaches in a planted 20 gallon long tank. Yes, they eliminated every single ramshorn and pond snail in the tank right away and there has not been any snails in over a year. I'm upset about this because I believe snails help plants by conditioning the soil and consuming various algaes, and I am since having a lot of trouble with my plants in this tank. The loaches constantly dig up newly planted staurogyne repens and uproot any other plant they can manage. They are super smart and interesting but I think they're too big for 20 gallons (about 4") now. I've been wanting to take them out but can't catch them. I've been anchoring plants with ties and rocks but often they find a way to uproot them anyway. Do you know a good way of catching them? Or, do you think I should just leave them in by managing them differently? Thank you.

[@DansFish]

Ouch! Loach overload. My best tip for catching them is to put a piece of PVC pipe in the tank with a cap on one end. Once the loaches start hanging out in the pipe, it is easy to remove them with the pipe. If they don't go into the pipe after a few days, start dropping some sinking food into the pipe to coax them in. Works much better than a net. Alternatively, a minnow trap can work.

[@gabrielliberman8247]

@@DansFish Thank you, Dan. I appreciate your hint. I actually did end up removing most rocks and a lot of (unrooted) plants and used 2 nets (one quite large) to capture them over by one. It was surprisingly quick and easy after months of pondering nervously how's to do it. I think the PVC would have been great to prevent having to remove so much from the tank. For some reason I didn't see your reply until just now, but I had heard of that method. Thank you again for your assistance. What do you think, by the way, about snails and plants, and if they really do help to condition the soil? Making loaches not so great for any planted tank?

[@rconn4501]

I have 1 zebra & 1 yoyo loach in a 90g for a couple years now and have changed 33% of the water like once every 3 months and they're fine! They were with Africans for about a year and are now with (1 male Betta, 2 female Bettas, 3 dwarf frogs, 12 Kuhli loaches, 1 strange Gourami, 12 candy cane tetras, and soon to be 4 Dojo Loaches! Heavily planted, plenty of African drift wood and other hiding places...

[@Blu3ni0000]

Would Zebra loach eat fish frys?? and is it okay to keep them in gravel type of substrates?? I just got coupe (and after the fact, I'm gonna go back and get 2-3more) to try adding to my 20 Gal planted tank with fish frys... and also, just wondering if i need to move them to my 54Gal Gravel (non planted) , or 29Gal gravel semi-planted but has a med size shrimp and also tons of frys. thnks

[@Demonic_Kitty]

I have a 37 gal, how many zebra loaches can I get?

[@ASadP1ckle]

I fell in love with loaches when i picked up a sumo, but had trouble getting him to eat, do you have any experience with sumo loaches?

[@DansFish]

I've worked at stores that carried sumo loaches, but I've never had to coax one to eat...they were always little pigs. If it is new, it might take a few days to settle in...they can be shy at first.

[@tracymanning1919]

I know this is older but I'm desperately trying to find info on growth rate of zebra loaches. I came into 2 (all they at for now) that are only about 1/2 inch and I'm wondering how long until they are a more sustainable size.

[@Seven7ails]

Ahhhh! I agree. They won’t grown as much as the clowns . Hope they’re available soon

[@michaeltewell2659]

Hey dan... i just got 5 young Zebra loaches is there a way you can tell male from female???

[@DansFish]

I can't, at least not with much accuracy. When a mature female is plumped up with eggs, then I can tell by her girth, but that is still somewhat of a guess.

[@michaeltewell2659]

Dans Fish Ok thanks for the quick reply... also I got them for 1 because I really do like there markings and for 2 they were suffering at the fish store idk if the people weren’t feeding there fish or what but 90% of the fish in there tanks were super skinny and even some dead. The loaches I got are super skinny like I can see there skeletons it’s sad. They won’t eat flakes or catfish pellets or algae wafers. I’ve tried frozen bloodworms and brine shrimp with not much success. The only thing they were interested in was baby night crawlers I got in my backyard under a log... any tips you can give me on what you think there favorite food is or what might help them eat I will appreciate A LOT. I feel really bad especially for 2 of them they are so skinny I can’t believe they can even swim but they mingle and follow each other around so I’m kind of sure if I can get them eating I can get them a little chunky and happy at least happier than they were. Thanks

[@violahopsalot162]

Nice video but I have a question about my angelfish. One of them seems to have some type of lockjaw problem. It happened before in a different tank and it died within one to two days. Never recover from it. In fact the one right can't eat and probably will pass by morning. It happens that fast. Any clues? Does not have anything stuck in its mouth, just mouth open. Not much info about cures on internet, only people mentioning the problem

[@DansFish]

Hello Viola, I am so sorry to hear you are having trouble with your angelfish. I have never run into that problem, so I am stumped. The only thing I can think of is the possibility of a physical blunt force injury to the mouth from running into something or from locking jaws in a display/fight with another angelfish. Other than that, I'm very sorry to say I have no idea what this is or how to help it. If anyone reading this has experience with this problem, please chime in so we can help Viola's fish out! I wish I could be more help! Dan

[@MegaMindyLou]

Do you have gravel in your tank? The wrong size, big enough to eat - too big to spit out, could easily get lodged. It has happened to my gold fish before. Then they work hard to get it out and makes matters worse. Most fish folks have done away with gravel these days. I used to just use small blasting sand sized gravel for my tanks.

[@DansFish]

Thanks MindyLou, great suggestion.

[@MegaMindyLou]

I used to breed angelfish back in the ‘90’s. Even overseas when we were stationed in Japan.

[@DansFish]

Wow, that's dedication!

[@anthonyragan2696]

Hi Dan. What size tank would you recommend for zebra loaches? I'm going to be setting up a 40-breeder soon, and I was wondering if that was an appropriate size for them

[@DansFish]

Absolutely! You could easily fit a nice group of them in a 40 and still have room for other fish if you wanted.

[@Blu3ni0000]

Just checking do your zebra loaches eat your frys??

[@violahopsalot162]

Yup. I thought of the rock situation. I did take a look into the mouths but saw nothing. It looked like I can see some pink inside their jaws where it used to be normal white. I've tried medications but was to no a vail. The other angels are fine so far. It doesn't happen often but just seemed strange. I was wondering if any one else had anything like this happen.

[@DansFish]

Wish I could help more. If anyone has any ideas about the cause of angelfish jaws getting locked open, please help Viola out.

[@Waffles4Everful-da-boy-waffles]

do I need a bigger tank? I only have a 5 gallon tank and 1 beta and 2 ghost shrimp

[@DansFish]

Totally up to you, but I think a betta and a couple of shrimp in a 5 gallon sounds just fine. That being said, when those shrimp molt, they may become betta snacks.

[@sergiomartins699]

@@DansFish would a 20long do? if so how many?

[@whorable]

this video helped me realized i was lied 2 and have a yoyo loach instead lol.

[@kentsfish9761]

Will they eat mts snails

[@DansFish]

I feed them ramshorn snails and "pond" snails, but I have never tried mts snails, so I have no idea. If anyone here knows the answer, please chime in so we can help Koryboy out!

[@DansFish]

I talked to a local friend, and he said his eat mts.

[@user-sq2kz8ss9s]

Yes the eat small snails for sure l am not sure about larger snails

[@rozzer666]

Hi iv just bought 6 zebras yesterday and they just hide in my heavy planted tank. Will they ever come out or are they known to hide

[@DansFish]

When I get them, it takes a while, but they do eventually settle in and come out, IME. It might take a few weeks...they don't always settle in right away. If there are other small fish in the aquarium (dither fish), that will help them feel comfortable.

[@rozzer666]

@@DansFish I have 12 baby tiger barbs also in there and thats it. Hope they do come out iv wanted them for ages and it's awful not seeing them about the tank

[@DansFish]

Any luck yet?

[@rozzer666]

@@DansFish no all 6 still in hiding. I'm worried about them not eating. I put food in after lights out for them not much more I can do?

[@-vineezayn-1397]

Can we breed them successful... R it's impossible... ?? Because I have 4 in 30 gallon tank ...

[@DansFish]

I don't think it is impossible, but I don't know of anyone who knows how to breed them on purpose. Some fry may randomly appear on occasion in a tank with them, but breeding them on purpose "naturally" (as opposed to manually with hormone injection and egg/milt extraction) does not seem to be something we really know how to do.

[@deniskochenborger4255]

I ve got one redtail shark. Will it have problems with loaches and their secrer weapon behind the eyes? I mean, is there possibilty the redtail shark to be hurt?

[@DansFish]

Howdy Denis, Thanks for the query. No, the zebra loaches will not harm a redtail shark. However, as that redtail grows, you may find you have the opposite problem and the red tail harasses the zebras. It is not guaranteed to be a problem, but those redtails, IME, can get quite sassy as they get bigger.

[@deniskochenborger4255]

@@DansFish thanks for your atention, I love your channel, do you have some video about redtail sharks? I know they're terrible but I really appreciate their collors and body shape.

[@DansFish]

Howdy Denis, They are not terrible! They are a beautiful, interesting fish. They have their quirks, but as long as we understand those quirks and set the tank up accordingly, they can be a great fish. I wish I could share some useful info about them, but I've never kept them personally. I know there are popular, so perhaps someone else who has kept them long-term can chime in and help out.

[@deniskochenborger4255]

@@DansFish I'm simply mad for the southeast asian aquatic fauna. I have friends who keep redtail shark with barbs without any problem. I do recommend you to have one in a big tank with lots of places to hide, In my opinion one of the most beautiful freshwater fishes thank you again for all this attention, and for all the knowledge you add to the hobby

[@DansFish]

Thanks for sharing Denis. Redtails are beautiful and I'm glad you found a way to keep them that works for you. And I agree, Southeast Asian fish are amazing!

[@raybrincat2317]

Zebra Loaches how much come bigger size

[@shubh1dillpickle]

Can you please see me a link to The book

[@DansFish]

Here you go! www.amazon.com/Loaches-Natural-History-Aquarium-Care/dp/0793806208/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=loaches&qid=1563320840&s=gateway&sr=8-2

[@paul44235]

What tetra is in this tank?

[@DansFish]

Those do look a lot like tetras, but they are Drape Fin Barbs, or Oreichthys crenuchoides

[@mikef3300]

I’m looking into these loach for my angel tank. I have 8 platinum angels and 14 albino corydoras in a 6ft diy 90 gallon. My concern is my ph is 7.6. Is that high for loach?

[@DansFish]

Howdy Mike, Your pH is just fine for them. They are very hardy and will do well in almost any well established, fully mature aquarium.

[@mikef3300]

I picked up 6 Yoyo loach juveniles a couple days ago and they are doing fine so far. Very active and looking healthy but they are only an 1” to 1 1/4” right now. Hopefully once they gain some size they’ll take care of these snails for me lol

[@DansFish]

Oh, they will eat snails...it won't be long! Keep an eye on them, Yoyo's can get a bit aggressive.

[@JolisaHollander]

Hey guys! So I have this problem....I have this one Zebra Loach and it started eating the eyes off my bigger fish (SAE and Angel). They ended up dead so I removed the loach to another tank where I only had a Bristlenose Pleco. A couple of weeks later I saw that my pleco was missing his actual mouth!! Does anyone have this kind of experience with zebra loaches? I have kept 6 of them together in peace for 3 years and of nowhere this one became a monster! Please help me, I dont know what to do with it.

[@ramonjr.intong5376]

I never heard you saying that botia loaches will consume snails

[@DansFish]

Yeah. That would have been a good thing to include in the video. Oh well, next time :)

[@HollyPrints]

I only got 2 :( now I feel bad...

[@DansFish]

Didn't mean to make you feel bad! The more the merrier with this species, but you can only do what you can do.

[@HollyPrints]

No, no of course you didn’t, I just never want to make any animal unhappy. At a push we could get 4, don’t want to cause over crowding. But we are picking up 2 more next week :D

[@DansFish]

I hear you about overcrowding. I bet you will see a lot more interesting, out-and-about behavior after the next 2 settle in. 😀

[@HollyPrints]

Dans Fish We hope so, these two are inseparable, they do everything together.

[@DansFish]

I know, they are pretty cute when they pal around.

[@lalshortshot2051]

I have 2, i havet seen them in 6 months other then when i re did the tank. They just hide

[@crispybacon580]

Need more of them or more hiding spots

[@user-gd7hz2te1h]

Will they eat cherryshrimp???

[@DansFish]

Kinx, I've never kept them with cherry shrimp, so I'm not sure.

[@user-gd7hz2te1h]

@@DansFish 👍

[@debrascheer4577]

Yes

[@debrascheer4577]

Yes

[@maheshd.r5942]

i bought a pair accidently and it was a good accident. Love em...but still both of em are very elusive hiding all the time.Gonna buy 3 more when i find them in LFS.

[@lalshortshot2051]

Same here i got 2 given to me as a rescue and they never ever come out

[@john25112882]

Mine a breeding purfectly fine in my tank

[@DansFish]

That's awesome! Can you tell me how you do it? What is the setup like. How do you raise the babies? What do you feed them? I want to know everything :)

[@samman6794]

Please let us know!?

[@crispybacon580]

Do theses zebra loaches get along with yo-yo loaches ?

[@keyonsylvester2545]

Clown loaches are more fun than zebra loach way more

[@TA-op3vn]

With all the respect, why are you keep comparing clown to zebra? it would be better to compare YoYo or Polka dot loach to Zebra. They all grow to about the same size and incredibly social fish. Polka dot even in pair is social and can be seen in mid waters with the rest of community tank.

[@DansFish]

I compared them because I wanted folks to know there is a better alternative for the average sized tank than clown loaches. I feel that clown loaches often suffer because they are purchased when small and never given an adequately sized tank to grow into. Just wanted folks to know there is a better choice.

[@mechietech5176]

Southwestern India

[@204_mod_shop]

I think my zebra ate my shrimp ...

[@204_mod_shop]

Shrimps**** plural over 20 gone 😂

[@sandraezellgregoris7220]

How is Botia striata pronouced

[@DansFish]

I say it like this: "Botia striata"

[@ajithr7908]

This fish usually seen in Western Ghats of 🇮🇳 India

[@24ghosh24]

Awesome fish but clowns are just clowns,i love them when they griw n become fat..so clowns for me

[@thefishylife6823]

Species profile!!!??? Or just a rant hating on clown loaches, clown loaches rock dude.......lol

[@DansFish]

Yeah, the video went sideways on me. It got a little weird. Believe it or not, I like clown loaches too.